Saarc summit in Dhaka Nov 12-13The twice-postponed 13th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) will be held in Dhaka on November 12-13, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced in Islamabad yesterday.

&nbsp

Budget posture to fuel inflation furtherBangladesh Economic Association (BEA) yesterday feared that increased bank borrowing and expenditure in the unproductive areas in the proposed budget will push inflation up to double digit next year.

&nbsp

Watchdog limps with weak laws, staff shortageCity markets are flooded with adulterated and contaminated food items, cheating consumers and exposing them to grave health risks, while the government, hindered by weak laws and staff shortages, is nearly

Japanese minister hails Dhaka's strong supportBangladesh, which has extended strong support for Japan's permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), will work as a facilitator, but not as a co-sponsor of Japan, in its moveto

Wheat importer sued for dodging dutyAn importer has been sued here for gobbling up around Tk 12 crore by secretly unloading over 10,000 tonnes of imported wheat from a ship at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port and selling them in local

&nbsp

Baghdad blasts kill 3 GIs, 14 othersAt least 17 people, including three US servicemen, were killed late Friday and early yesterday as three bomb attacks shattered the relative calm in the capital since US and Iraqi forces launched a joint

Four-party supporter gunned downUnidentified assailants yesterday chopped and gunned down a supporter of the four-party candidate in the Narsingdi-1 by-polls and wounded two others in Karimganj in the sadar upazila.

&nbsp

Hartal called in Khulna over budget fundThe Greater Khulna Development Action Coordination Committee (GKDACC) has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Khulna Metropolitan City and Phultala upazila of Khulna district on June 18.

&nbsp

FM flies to Doha today for G-77 meetForeign Minister M Morshed Khan leaves for Doha today to attend a ministerial meeting of Group77. The ministerial meeting will be preceded by the second South Summit to be held in Doha on June 15-16.

China hotel fire kills 31A fire raced through the top three floors of a hotel in southern China, killing 30 people and injuring 15 others, the official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

&nbsp

HC asks govt to restore power in campsThe High Court (HC) yesterday ordered the government to restore electricity in all the camps of the stranded Pakistanis across the country within 24 hours.

&nbsp

Indian court acquits eightA court in India acquitted eight people yesterday who were blamed for planting a bomb in a bus in the western commercial centre of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, in 2002 that killed two and injured

&nbsp

Rift widens over EU contributionsThe UK must compromise on its EU rebate so the bloc can reach a deal on its budget, the German chancellor has said amid mounting pressure on London.

Withdraw money whitening facilityTerming the proposed budget anti-social and anti-justice, Unnayan Samannay, an NGO, yesterday criticised the finance minister for extending the time limit for whitening black money by another one year.

Dollar strikes nine-month high against euroThe dollar rose to its highest level against the euro in nine months Friday after the US trade deficit came in somewhat better than expected. The euro bought 1.2122 dollars at 2100 GMT from 1.

Saudi backs Opec ceiling hikeSaudi Arabia's powerful oil minister said on Saturday he supported a 500,000 barrel per day rise in Opec's output ceiling and that current prices above $50 a barrel were "too high" and should be brought

G8 close to ‘historic’ debt relief dealGroup of Eight finance (G8) ministers were Saturday on the brink of sealing an "historic" deal to scrap multilateral debt totalling billions of dollars owed by the world's poorest countries.

Football:Liton treble for 5-star BrothersRezaul Karim Liton celebrated a place in the Brothers Union starting line-up for the first time in the Premier Bank Premier Football League with a hattrick to help the defending champions thrash Dhaka

&nbsp

Cricket:Signs look ominous for BangladeshIf Friday's first practice match at Derby was any indication of what is coming next Thursday, then Bangladesh is certainly heading for a disaster when they take on England in the opening match of thetriangular

&nbsp

Cricket:Bangla BarlowEddie Barlow, the first foreign coach to train Bangladesh after getting Test status, has been a keen follower of the Tigers even after quitting coaching for health reasons about five years ago.

&nbsp

Cricket:A national team in disguiseA host of current national players crowded the Bangladesh A team for the upcoming tour of England when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 15-member squad yesterday.

&nbsp

Football:Rivals change battlefieldPakistan and India on Saturday prepared to kick off their first ever football series as sporting ties, frozen until two years ago, continue to expand.

&nbsp

Cricket:Gough's Ashes adviceDarren Gough has told his England teammates they must have the same 'arrogance' as Australia if they are to win their first Ashes series in nearly 20 years later this season.

&nbsp

Football:Klinsmann's moment of truthWith 12 months to go until the 2006 World Cup football fans have an early taste of what to expect when the Confederations Cup starts in Germany next Wednesday.

&nbsp

Football:Kluivert's Valencia move on holdDutch striker Patrick Kluivert is confident that he will finally end up joining Valencia even though the move to the Spanish club was put on hold because of doubts over the state of his one of his knees.

&nbsp

Football:Barca won't spend bigBarcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said on Saturday that the Spanish champions were not planning to make any major signings before next season.

&nbsp

Football:Pride at stake for Inter, RomaRoma and Inter Milan will both be looking to restore wounded pride after disappointing Serie A campaigns when they meet in the Italian Cup final.

&nbsp

Football:Germans have little faithA majority of Germans believe their country will not win the World Cup it is hosting next year, according to a survey carried out by the Polis Institute which was released on Friday.

&nbsp

Cricket:Sourav may play for MCC sideSourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, has been invited to take part in the tsunami-relief match between the MCC and an International XI at Lord's on Tuesday and has "responded positively".

Football:Mohakhali end on topMohakhali Ekadash blanked Agrani Bank 2-0 yesterday to finish their first leg campaign of the First Division Football League top of the table with Rahmatganj MFS.

&nbsp

Cricket:Mehta had links with bookies worldwideMumbai-based bookie Shobhan Mehta had direct and indirect links with Indian cricket players like Mohammad Azharuddin, Nayan Mongia and Ajay Jadeja and foreign cricketers like Australian Mark Waugh and

Tennis:Sharapova struggles into semisWimbledon champion Maria Sharapova struggled into the semifinals of the WTA event on Friday having to overcome an injury scare as well as unseeded Eleni Daniilidou 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

Form transparent body to evaluate pvt varsityPresident Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to form a transparent body immediately to evaluate academic and financial activities as well as physical facilities of the

&nbsp

'Widened tax net to hit consumers'Different political and social organisations yesterday strongly criticised the proposed budget for 2005-06, terming it ambitious and against the interest of the people.

&nbsp

Work with honestyPrime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday inaugurated Highway Police unit designed to ensure safety and check crimes on the country's regional and national highways that increased from some 4,000 kilometers

&nbsp

AL leaders blast SaifurAwami League central leaders yesterday said finance minister has kept the provision for whitening black money in the proposed budget to give a scope to corrupt BNP men, including Tarique Rahman and Naser

Ex-JCD leader seeks securityA former leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) yesterday urged the prime minister to ensure the security of him and his family members as a quarter has been giving death threats over the telephone.

&nbsp

Jalil goes to Kolkata for check-upAwami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil MP left Dhaka yesterday for Kolkata for his regular health check- up. He is expected to return home tomorrow, says a party press release.

&nbsp

Punishment to abductors demandedToday is the ninth year of the abduction of Hill Women's Federation Leader Kalpana Chakma, says a press release of the federation.

&nbsp

'Govt conspires to uproot indigenous people'Goutam Dewan, president of Chittagong Hill Tracts Committee to Protect Rights of Land and Forest, has said that the indigenous people of CHT do not get much importance as the wildlife gets.

Buet classes to begin July 2All classes of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) will begin on July 2.The students have been asked to complete their course registration between June 27 and June 29.

&nbsp

Hawker murdered in RajshahiA newspaper hawker was stabbed to death at Ranibazar area here yesterday morning. The victim was identified as Titon, 22. Police suspect that the murder occurred due to previous enmity.

&nbsp

JU syndicate polls June 18The election to the syndicate under dean category in Jahangirnagar University (JU) will be held on June 18.Intra-party feud among the pro-AL teachers has come into surface ahead of the election.

A lifebuoy for the distressed"It's a blessing form God", said Mobarak Ali, 50, who came from far away Panpattee village in Galachipa upazila for treatment of rheumatic fever at the floating hospital.

&nbsp

Bidding bye to child labourDifferent organisations have chalked out programmes in Daulatpur in Kushtia to observe the 'World Day Against Child Labour-2005' today.

&nbsp

29 kg katal with 6.5 kg eggsA fisherman caught a giant Katal fish weighing 29 kilograms with six and a half kg eggs inside from the Shankha river in Bandarban yesterday.

&nbsp

A laudable step for good governanceIt was a different day for the people of villages under Jalalpur Union Parishad in Tala upazila. Hundreds of enthusiastic people from all walks of life took part in a day- long budget session yesterday.

RU teacher faces death threatThe chairman of Rajshahi University (RU) Chemistry department on Friday received death threat from some telephone callers who identified themselves as his daughter's kidnappers.

Ending child labourChild labour is a most pressing problem for millions of children and families in Bangladesh and one which demands the immediate attention of the Prime Minister and national policy makers.

Kashmir dispute must end for 'durable' peacePakistan and India will experience "durable peace" only if the two nations resolve their 57-year-old dispute over the Himalayan state of Kashmir, Pakistan's foreign minister said here Friday.

&nbsp

Advani's meek surrenderThe dramatic I-won't-take-it-lying-down resignation and the later meek surrender to Hindu hardliners marks the end of an era for the L.K. Advani as he is known for two decades.

G4 confident about UNSC berthGermany, India, Brazil and Japan have enough votes to land permanent seats on the UN Security Council, but they will still seek more support before pushing for a vote, ambassadors for two of the so-called

Lankan monk MP ends fast after talksA Buddhist monk legislator called off fast unto death yesterday, a day after Sri Lanka's president promised to consult the clergy amid growing opposition to her plan to share tsunami aid with Tiger rebels.

Editorial:Whitening black moneyIt is to his credit that Finance Minister Saifur Rahman has admitted that extending the provision for whitening black money that has been retained in the budget proposal was morally problematic, and that

&nbsp

Editorial:Too hazardous to eatIndiscriminate use of chemicals in foodstuffs poses a grave threat to public health as people are virtually ingesting poison under the labels of fruits, vegetables and many other edibles.

The modern slave tradeThe extent of human trafficking and its consequences are readily to be seen in Bangladesh, where the problem is so serious that at least 24 national and international NGOs are currently working on the

Buffeted budgetUnholy speculations were rife in the metropolis on the budget announced by the finance minister.

&nbsp

We abhor"Pickets delight, driver's plight" the news item published in The Daily Star on May 22, 2005 under the above heading made us numb with horror and disgust.

&nbsp

Black GoldThis is no more secret that vast deposits of minerals Ziroon, Rutile, Magnetite, Monazite, Garnet and Elmenite etc.

&nbsp

Time to take stern actionThe US state department again criticised Bangladesh for it's inability to combat the operation of some militant groups and specially named "Harkat-UI-Zihad-I-Islami-Bangladesh," that is running its operation

&nbsp

Who is responsible?One fine morning while driving my car I noticed that yellow coloured 'cat's eyes' had been placed on the roads and traffic signal points in Dhaka city.

Water crisis hits Dhanmondi, SobhanbaghResidents of Sobhanbagh and Dhanmondi areas are facing acute water crisis due to over-population while people in Lalmatia are also experiencing water scarcity as a pump there has gone out of order.

Theatre groups long for venuesFor some 200 active theatre groups in the capital, there are only two theatre halls the Mahila Samity Stage and the Experimental Theatre Stage where regular performances are held.